Compound Coffee Co. – Techlink

Previously closed to the public and only opened to the residents of The Interlace, Compound Coffee Co. has finally opened a new space that is open to public at Techlink around Kaki Bukit.

Previously featuring a minimalist theme with mostly white and wooden decor, the new space if Compound Coffee Co. features a slightly more industrial theme with concrete walls and flooring. Installed within the cafe also is a coffee roaster which they use to roast their blends in-house. Currently, the menu features mostly salad and sandwich dishes, with a small grab-and-go fridge stocked with ready-to-eat sandwiches and salads, the various salad dressings and their signature bottled Cold Brew. A small display cabinet is located at the area beside the cashier with the pastries that they offer.

(The Beast – Sandwich)

Contemplating between the Truffle Shrooms and The Beast, I eventually chose the latter for I was craving for something with meat. Available in both sandwich and salad form, The Beast comes with Grilled Salami, Beef Pastrami, sautéed mushrooms, cheddar, rocket and garlic pepper cream. A dish that would appeal to guys for its sheer meatiness, the cured meat came in huge slices and bound well with the savoury condiments such as the garlic pepper cream and cheddar. Sautéed mushrooms were bouncy and added an earthy contrast to the sandwich, and the rocket gives the refreshing break in between with its crunchiness. The salad on the side comes with a citrusy hint of flavours which helps to cleanse the palate with the fresh greens, though I was not a fan of the nibs of corn within (but I am one who dislike corn anyway). I found the bread used rather interesting — somewhat like a flatbread but toasted with a little bit of bite and dense for that tension; a pretty apt combination with the sandwich.

(Croissant)

Despite the size of The Beast, I decided to order the Croissant for I was feeling rather hungry that day. Coming lukewarm, the Croissant felt that it could probably do being warmed up, for it felt a tad limp missing the actual flakiness of fresh-out-of-the-oven croissants (possibly supplied). Still, the croissant came pretty flaky and buttery, and would be a good companion to a cuppa for a lazy afternoon chill.

(Cold Brew – White)

One of the things I have wanted to try at Compound Coffee Co. is their elusive White Cold Brew that often runs out of stock early at pop-up markets. Sadly, I found the White Cold Brew here hard to appreciate — rather diluted and lacks that rich and smooth flavours that cold brew usually carries and even comes with a bright but seemingly awkward aftertaste. Not sure if it is supposed to be this way, but it certainly was not something that my taste buds could understand.

I ended up ordering the Espresso + Milk (3.5oz) which was pretty decent and definitely hits my palate as compared with the White Cold Brew. This size is pretty much almost equivalent to a Piccolo Latte, and one could definitely taste the bright and tangy flavour profile with fruity notes.

With the new location of Compound Coffee Co. at Techlink, most would be glad that they are finally officially open to public especially for those who have had wanted to try their coffee but could not do so due to the nature of their previous location. Its new location in the east would also mean that Compound Coffee Co. is more accessible to easties, though perhaps not the most convenient area of the east. That being said, it is certainly interesting to see Compound Coffee Co. open for the public, especially with its reputation for being notoriously hard to visit in the past — a place worthy to try if you hadn’t had a chance to do it before.

One of the only few shops in Singapore that provides a larger variety of coffee beans to try and especially the great passion from the founders, whom actually tested the espresso themselves on whether its good enough from their end prior to serving it to the customers. Thumbs up!

More coffee variety to try + great passion/soul into making a great cup of coffee + awesome customer service.